Towing device



July 30, 1935. w. KUNZE TOWING DEVICE Filed Opt. 27, 1951 INVENTOR i l all y Kunze Patented July 30, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOWING DEVICE Willy Kunze, Bremen, Germany, assignor to Submarine Signal Company, Boston,- Mass, a corporation of Maine Application October 27, 1931, Serial No. 571,476

Germany January 17, 1931 4 Claims.

craft. Various towing devices have been used in the prior art. Some of these have been singlebody devices and others have been constructed in the form of a group of individual sound pick-up devices.

The present invention relates to the type of towing devices in which the pick-up units are incorporated in a single body. In the construction employed in the present invention the pick-up or sound receiving devices are mounted with their diaphragms parallel and in the side walls of the towing device, a shadow body preferably being provided between the group of receivers on either side of the towing device so that each group may be used independently .of the other.

The towing device itself is constructed in such a fashion that while it has a long dimension in the direction in which it is being towed, it also is quite high vertically but has a very narrow dimension horizontally or perpendicular to the ver-' tical axis. The sound receivers being mounted in the center of the sides of the towing device are provided therefore with a considerable area of rigid wall about them which acts to provide a baflle, and in connection with the shadow body or sound-insulating body behind the receivers,. practically makes it impossible for one group of receivers to receive sound from a direction on the opposite side .of the towing device.

This and other advantages will appear from the following description of the apparatus in connection with the drawing in which Figure 1 shows a side view of the towing device, Figure 2 shows a top view of the device indicated in Figure 1 together with the electrical connections for using a group of receivers eitheron one side or the other side of the towing device, Figure 3 shows a modification of the arrangement shown in Figure 1 in which a group of receivers is provided arranged in a plane in place of the group arranged in a straight line as indicated in Figure 1, and Figure 4 shows a detail, partly in section, of the towing device shown in Figure 2.

In Figure l the towing device comprises a body composed of side walls I and 2 reinforced interiorly by the ribs 3 and joined in any suitable manner about the'periphery of the sides. The walls I and 2 may be composed of wood or metal or any other suitable substance and may be joined by welding or riveting or in the case of wood by suitable wood screws or pins. The body may be made watertight on the interior in any suitable way as well known in the prior art. In

the center of the body is placed a sound insulating or sound shadow body, as it is commonly called. This is designated as 6 and preferably extends the whole length and height of the interior of the towing body. The receivers 9, Hi, i i and i2 are mounted in the skin of 'the side wall I and flush therewith while the'receivers on.

the opposite side, numbers l3, l4, l5 and iii, are similarly mounted. At the lower front and rear parts of the towing body are mounted a pair of fins 44 and 55. I They may be adjustable by being suitably pivoted on a shaft passing through the towing body itself and are of suitable size and construction to preserve the upright position of the towing body itself as it is being towed through the water.

For design for use in air the fins 44 and 55 will be somewhat larger and differently shaped from that indicated in the figure, but the same general type of construction will be applicable as indicated in the drawing. The direction that the body takes in the water may be controlled by the dicated more clearly in Figure 2. In this case connectingelements are provided connecting the rudder I to both sides of the towing body. Theseconnecting elements have adjustable turn-buckles 88 so that the rudder i may be set either to one side or to the other side of the towing body. There is provided in connection with the use of a group of receivers aswitching mechanism as shown in Figure 2. In this case when the switch arm 19 has pulled the pointer to the numeral, I; the receivers on one side of the towing device are connected to the indicating apparatus l1 and I8 which may be any suitable means such as an amplifier and. apair of head telephones. When the switch!!! is thrown to the right the second group of receivers is connected to the indicating apparatus and in this manner the operator may listen first to one side and then to the other side of the towing device.

' As indicated in Figure 3 the sound receivers 2|, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are arrangedin a circle somewhat near the periphery of the towing device. The group arrangement in Figure 3 being in a vertical plane would have a directive effect horizontally and in. this manner eliminate considerable of the disturbing sounds coming from the vicinity. from the top surface or from'the bottom of the water.

The device as indicated in Figures 1 and 2 may be towed by means of the electric cable 20 in the direction A as indicated by the arrow. I

Having now described my invention I claim:

1. A towed device for signaling purposes comprising an elongated body comprising two similar plate-like elements joined about their periphery and substantially free otherwise forming the body and having the height dimension in a vertical plane large as compared with the width dimensions in a horizontal plane anda plurality of sound pick-up devices mounted in each plate flush therewith.

2. A towed device for signaling purposes comprising a body formed of two similar plate-like elements joined only about their periphery, a plurality of sound pick-up devices mounted flush in said plates and a sound shadow bodypositionedbetween said plates.

3. A towed device for signaling purposes comprising a body formed of two similar p ate-like elements joined about their periphery and substantially free otherwise, a plurality of sound pick-up devices mounted in alignment in the center of said plates flush therewith and a sound shadow body positioned between said plates.

4. A towed device for sound signaling purposes comprising a flat-shaped body formed of two substantially similar 'side elements joined about their periphery and substantially free otherwise, a group of sound receivers mounted flush in said sides and means strengthening the sides ver- 15 tically.

WILLY KUNZE. 

